Steeping press



L. KOHORN STEEPING PRESS May 16, 1950 2.Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 27, 1947 Zia | II III M m 1 II V O MK 0 E L 0 HTTOENEYS y 1950 L. KOHORN 2,507,720

' STEEPING PRESS Filed Aug. 27, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Leo KoHoRN Patented May 16, 1950 OFFICE .asumzpj TS'TEEPINGTRESS :tion of .New .Ynrk

Application 'ikugus't '27, 1941, SeiialNoW-Wflfl 1 .-3Glaims.

The :present invention :relates to .ian iimproved steeping press, and it irelate's more aparticularly "to an improved SteepingIpreSs at :the automatic discharge type.

In the manufacture or rayon ilby Lthe :vis'cose 5 proeess, one of the steps comprises -converting eelhilose -into allcali --ee11uiose. This iis sgenerally accomplished by steeping sheets ofrpurified ipulp into a caustic soda'isolution for a period oflabout an hour. Duringthis period,the sheetsiofipulp and may be operated toy-ascrewdevicei hyiirafilic "cylinder or any-othe'nsuitable "mechanism. In 'operation,'the*ram isbrought to its retractexi position, and sheets :ofc'eiluioseare 'placed le'etween the successively adjacentj plates. The 7 caustic f soda solution 'is 'flowed1nto .the vat'to completely" immerse the sheets ofjpulpfor' the desired-period. The "solution is then drained. from 'thervahi and the ram actuated to. expresstheexcess"solutionto bring the sheets of .alk'ali"celluiose tothe desired -press ratiofthat is; the ratio; oftl'iealkali'cl'liilose "and absorbed caustic to; the'fdry"cellulosej'content. Thereafter, the ram is rtractedi the. 'aikali'cfllulose sheets manually removed.aridtransported to "the following operation.

Themanual removal of the sheets-Di a11 a1i;c,e1- lulose ish'ighly ,undesirable'for .iman sreas'o'n's.

I The operation consumesv considerable time Q and is hazardous to the. operator. .There havebeen inany proposals "to effect the .mechanica1 .dis- .charge of the. sheets/of .alkalilcelluloseffrom' the steeping press, butthese iall i possessgnumerous drawbacks.

It. is, therefore,.an object of thfiapresentsinven- .tion tosprovide an improved :steepingmress.

, .Another object sofa-the; present invention .isg to provideea steeping: press:havingaan-improved$heet discharge mechanism.

+St-i11- another. obj ectof the presentwinvention, is

is F FigQ:

sheet rdischarge mechanism characterized ;by .yrugged construction and positive operation.

The :above :andzfurther objectsof thepresent :irwention :willl :beeomaapnarent from a reading :of the :iollowing description, together with the .zaccompanyingzdrawing, whereinFigure 1 is an reievational 'glview 01 ;;a hydraulic-type steeping press with parts of the tracks 20 broken away, 1emboclying Lthe present invention; Fig. 2 .is a detail sectional fragmenta y i w, takenial ns line:;22;.0f Fig. 1, the f rag nentgomittedlbeingpf ssubstantiaily similar and symmetrical construcitiOn i130 sthatrillustrated; and;Fig 31s a detail @fragmentarv-plan view, takemfrom line 3- .3,of aFigl 1491s asectional :viewtaken along line .LOfi Fig. :2 and Fig. 3 5 is; a fra m ntary isometrioL-VieW showing thegcarn and sfollower, eonsstr-ucti-on.

:The present :invention: contemplates an ppen 20 atop vat, sprovided avith a ram movable alon the :dength-of theivat and having a vertically slidesablei-gate-lattth-eend-opposite the'ram end. Within? the; ratiare; a, first pair-of guide rails or tracks, one of :which, is indicatedby, numeral 7 2 2a posi- ::'slideab1y support sheet -;partiti0ning ,plates. FSiidBflblYiDOSitiOD-fld outside thevat. and arranged :in;:alignmentmith the#firstJpair of tracks, are; a secondpaiizofitracks; one .of .whichis diSQlOSQd'EbY 30 the .numeral'fifi. i-While the drawings illustr te -onlywone each of the-tracks; 2B and; 22a; it is be- .ilievied 18311 that :these v tracks :are duplicated within :.the vat 2i 0 Land, .outside the vat to form pairs .ofztracks. Asmechanism is; provided which 4355250 associates wthezgateand the second painof ltracksr that upon the raising of thegate, the, secmi pairpfitreck i h s dinto r ei rrw t i a stpairzotztrac ss- Anoth mechan s r l ma :i-tuatedsby h sliding sat we lo s n' rin .40 -;into,-complementary; bores for-med in, the second tracssztoi c m e s LOf track e e zm cha ismi s pm- =vided gwi-th heavy iweights, which by way. of a a -.series of lev erslpositively retracts the lockin zp ns mettletracks upon thelowering of the gate.

terence is owmade to thedrawings, vvheresin- 1 0, designates a long tank or vatpfrectang ilar acrossasectiont reinforced by tension rods l tla and ;;--:hav ing,acompletelyppentop, throughwhich rnay insertedzsheets oif. pulp. A ram: li a. of substanlip-thesametransverse cross. section asathe insterior of-sthe vat iii, is. slidealoly positioned within ,the -vat and -is,--supported,.at an end o f a @mune e l I :rmiectiee thro th -en tw ep toyprovide:assteepingspressehaving.an irnproved;5 thewvatAp, lomxwayof afluid tight fitting. k Tle plunger ll terminates in a piston which cooperates with a horizontal hydraulic cylinder l3. Further, the cylinder I3 is connected to a source of oil under pressure, by way of a pump 14, driven by an electric motor I6. The hydraulic cylinder :3 is controllable to urge the plunger H and hence the ram, toward an extended or retracted position.

The end of the vat in opposite the ram end, is provided with a vertically slideable gate H, which affords access to the interior of the vat Ill. The gate Il may be raised or lowered by the hydraulic cylinder arrangement [9, the associated piston of which is connected to the gate H by means of a connecting rod l9a. Further, a pair of tracks 20 symmetrically positioned on each side of the vat I0, is slideably supported in alignment with a pair of tracks 22a positioned on the inner faces of the side walls of the vat Ill. The latter pair of tracks 22a. engages and supports a plurality of sheetpartitioning and supporting rectangular plates 230 by means of lateral projections 23b extending from the plates 230. The forward ends of the tracks 28 are each slideably supported on rollers 20a mounted on corresponding upright guides 2la and rectangular openings adjacent the rear ends of the tracks 20 are slideably engaged by bosses 23d.

A track-sliding mechanism is provided, which urges the tracks 20 into and out of the interior of the vat Ill, with the raising and lowering of the gate II. More particularly, the tracks 20 are each provided with a vertically elongated slot 22, which is engaged by a pin 23 laterally projecting from one end of an arm 24. The opposite end of the arm 24 is keyed to a horizontal shaft 25, which is rotatably supported by brackets 26. Further, a pair of oppositely extending arms 2! and 28 are keyed to the shaft 25, and are pinconnected to corresponding turnbuckles 29 and 30. In turn, the opposite ends of the turnbuckles 29 and 38 are each connected to a corresponding bell crank 32 and 33 respectively, which are rotatably supported and which terminate in cam follower rollers 34 and 35. Associated with each of the followers 34 and 35, are the cam members 36 and 31 which project vertically from the gate IT. The cam member 31 is so shaped that upon the raising of the gate H, the cam member 31, by way of the follower 35 and the connecting linkage and shaft, urges the tracks 25 inwardly into registry with the tracks positioned in the vat l0. Further, the cam member 36 is so shaped that upon the lowering of the gate I1, the cam member 36 urges the tracks outwardly by way of the follower 34 and the connecting linkage and shaft.

In order to securely lock the tracks 20 in their inwardly extended position, there is provided a mechanism actuated by the gate l'l when it is completely opened. This mechanism consists of a rotatable bell crank 48, supporting a locking pin 4| which is slideable in a bore 42 formed in a bracket 43. Moreover, the track 20 is provided with a bore 44 which is in alignment with the bore 42 when the tracks 28 are in registry with the tracks positioned in the vat. The opposite end of the bell crank 40 is connected by way of an adjustable link or rod 46 to the outer end of a lever 41, which is suitably keyed to'a shaft 48. The shaft 48 in turn is rotatably supported by a standard 49, and is provided at its other end with an arm 58 extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the shaft 48. Further, enaging a vertical tapped bore formed in the free end of the arm 50, is an adjustable screw mem- 4 ber 5| provided with a lock nut 52, the adjustment of the screw member 5| determining the relative position of the gate, for actuation of the track-locking mechanism.

An angle member 53 whose legs are of different lengths and form an angle of less than 90 with each other, has its shorter leg fastened to the arm 50 by means of a pair of screws 54. Further, secured to the free'end of the longer leg of the angle member 53, is the relatively heavy weight 55. The purpose of the weight 55 is to positively urge the track-locking pin 41 to its retracted position upon the lowering of the gate I'I. Failure of the pin 4| being removed from the bore 44 before initiation of the track-retracting operation, would result in serious damage to p the track-retracting mechanism. It should be all) noted that the arm 50 and the angle member 53 are so shaped that the weight 55 is clear of the path of the gate l1, and is substantially spaced from the longitudinalaxis of the shaft 48.

Considering now the operation of the equipment above described, after the sheets of pulp have been steeped in the caustic solution for the desired period of time, the caustic solution is drained from the vat I0, and the cylinder [3 actuated to advance the ram until the sheets of alkali cellulose have reached the desired press :ratio, the expressed liquid being likewise drained from the vat I0. Thereafter, the pressure on the ram i3 is released and the cylinder I9 is actuated to raise the end gate ll. As the gate I! rises, the cam 31 urges the bell crank 33 to rotate so that through the associated linkage 30 and 28, shaft 25 and arm 24, the tracks 20 are slid into registry with the tracks positioned within the vat l8, and the opening 44 is brought into alignment with the bore .42 and pin 4|. Upon approaching its uppermost position, the top of the gate l1 comes into contact with the screw member 5|, thereby to rotate-the arms 50 and 41 and the shaft 48. The rod 46 is moved downwardly, rotatin the bell crank 40 and sliding the pin 4i into the opening 44, to lock the tracks 20in their inserted position.

The ram is again urged forward by means of the cylinder l3 and the alkali cellulose sheets and the supporting plates are discharged through the open front end of the vat Ill. The plates, as they ride along the tracks 20, permit the alkali cellulose sheets to fall from between the plates into any suitable hopper or chute positioned below and between the tracks 20. After the alkali cellulos sheets have been completely discharged, the ram is retracted, carrying the plates which are chain-connected back into the vat ID. The cylinder I9 is then actuated to lower the gate l1 into closed position.

The falling of the gate I1 releases the arm 50, which results in the shaft 48 rotatin as a consequence of the torque exerted by the weight 55. The rod 48 is raised by the arm 41, thereby rotating the bell crank 40 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 and withdrawing the pin 4| from the bore 44. Upon further dropping of the gate H, the cam 36 urges the bell crank 32 'to rotate so that through the associated linkage 29 and 21, shaft 25 and arm 24, the tracks 20 are withdrawn from the interior of the vat l0 and the path of the gate H. The gate H is thereafter dropped into its completely closed position and the vat is then ready for another steeping operation.

While there has been described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of. the present invention.

it is obvious that numerous omissions and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

I claim:

1. A steeping press comprising a vat having a vertically slideable gate positioned at one end thereof, means for raising and lowering said gate, a longitudinally movable track extending in front of said vat, means responsive to the movement of the gate for sliding said track inwardly across the path of said gate, and a mechanism responsive to the movement of said gate for locking said track in its inner position, said mechanism including a 'weight for normally urging said mechanism to a track-unlocked position.

2. A steeping press comprising a vat having a vertically slideable gate positioned at one end thereof, means for raising and lowering said gate, a longitudinally movable track extending in front of said vat, means responsive to the raising of the gate for sliding said track into said vat, said track having a transverse bore formed therein, and a mechanism including a locking pin and responsive to the raising of said gate for inserting said locking pin into said bore, said mechanism into said vat upon the rasing of said gate, and out of said vat upon the lowering of said gate, said track having a transverse bore formed therein, a locking pin adapted to engage said bore, a'flink mechanism operated by said gate for urging said locking pin into engagement with said bore, and a weight so associated with said link r'n'echanism as to normally urge said locking pin but of engagement with said bore.

LEO KOHORN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain July 31, 1941 Number 

